Social Media

Former Addict? Stay Away From Facebook

Addictions expert David Smallwood claims that Facebook can fuel insecurity in users, can cause something he calls "friendship addiction," and should generally be avoided by people with addiction issues.

"Acquisition of friends is like any other fix but it's competitive you judge yourself by how many friends you have online. You go out of your way to amass friends and that means people bend out of shape and become something they are not. To appear successful, you go and put yourself in credit card debt by buying clothes and handbags. I see patients who are on Facebook and my response is 'get yourself off it'," Smallwood claims.

All of this may or may not be true. But let's reiterate one fact that people - even "experts" - often seem to forget when talking about social networks.

Facebook is a phone. Facebook is a letter. Facebook is a means of communication. Should alcohol addicts stay away from department stores? No, they should stay the hell away from the beer shelf.

Smallwood also mentions the potential negative consequences of being rejected by Facebook users. You have to request friendship; if you get turned down, this can "increase feelings of rejection." I don't want to appear insensitive, but if getting rejected on a friend request by someone on Facebook is an issue, then Facebook is the least of your worries.

Facebook is a very versatile communication tool; people use it in very different ways. The fact that some people tend to amass thousands of friends doesn't mean it's flawed; just like the phone is not to blame for someone's compulsive middle-of-the-night calls.

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